Retractable office lamp



March 6, 1951 A. MOUNIQUE RETRACTABLE OFFICE LAMP I5 Sheets-Sheet l I Filed Sept. 6, 1946 March 6, 1951 A. MOUNIQUE 2,543,926

RETRACTABLE OFFICE LAMP Filed Sept. 6, 1946 I s Sheets-Sheet 2 Y /?Jforneys March 6, 1951 A. MOUNIQUE 2,543,925

RETRACTABLE OFFICE LAMP Filed Sept. 6, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet s [mew/0r Patented Mar. 6, 1951 2,543,926 RETRACTABLE OFFICE LAMP Andre Mounique, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Jumo, Paris, France, a corporation of France Application September 6, 1946, Serial No. 695,131 In France January 27, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires January 27, 1965 4 Claims. (Cl. 240-81) The present invention is relating to lamps and more particularly to office lamps which are characterized essentially by a novel arrangement of their parts which permit the lamps to be folded into a compact block. In this position the head of the lamp, a folded arm, the connecting conductor and the current plug all lie within the base and the circuit is automatically broken as the arm is folded back. The apparatus is then arranged in a compact form taking up little space and can be easily placed in a drawer or employed as a paper weight or as an ornament.

In general, the above result is attained in the following manner: the arm which connects the head of the lamp to the base is pivoted at the extremities thereof to the lamp and the base. The arm also has one or more pivotal joints intermediate of its length and the intermediate joints are preferably held by a spring so that-the arm is maintained in an open position. The pivotal joints of the base and the head are held solely by friction. The base is recessed in the upper face thereof so as to receive'the arm in the folded position. Furthermore the contour of the base is so designed that the ed e of the shell forming the head of the lamp fits exactly thereon. The lower face of the base is also recessed so as to provide a space in which the flexible conductor of the lamp is wound up and where there is a space for the connecting plug of the conductor. Furthermore, a push button switch, pressed by the folded arm, ensures that when the arm is folded the circuit of the lamp is broken.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates in sectional elevation one method of carrying the invention into effect;

Figure 2 illustrates a front view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with Figure 1; and

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the lamp in a folded condition.

Referring to the drawings a base of a lamp carries an arm 2 having a head 33 mounted at the upper extremity thereof. The arm 2 is composed of two parts 3 and 4 pivotally connected together upon a pin 5. The parts 3 and 4 are connected by a spring 6. In the folded position the part 4 is formed by two tubes, which extend on either side of the part 3. The part 3 is pivoted to the base by means of a spring friction device I. In the same way, the part 4 which carries the head 33 is connected to the head 33 by means of a friction pivot 8.

prises the head, there is fixed a socket 9.

In the interiorof the shell piece 33 which com- The fixing is resilient due to a spring [0, which permits the socket to be inclined so as to permit an electric bulb to be placed in position. A metallic reflector I l is mounted in the bottom of the head by means of screws. Slots 24 (Figure 3) may be provided for ventilation. A knob [2 permits the head to be firmly gripped to detach it from the base when in the folded position and to open out the lamp in order to place it in the position for use. When the pivot 5 is completely open and'fixed by its spring, the arm 2 acts like a rigid arm. It can be inclined as desired on the base and in the same way the head of the lamp can be given any desired direction with respect to the arm. Thus the user of the lampis given great latitude for regulating the height of the luminous focus and its distance from the base.

In the upper face of the base I, there is provided a recess l3 in which the arm 2 fits in its folded-up position. The underneath of the base is also provided with a recess M in which is provided a space to accommodate the supply lead N3 of the lamp, which is wound on hooks (not shown) fixed to the under surface [5. A second recess l6 serves as the receptacle for the plug ll of the lamp. A system of spring operated hooks l9 enables the extremity of the conductor to be secured to the base. A spring push device 20 on which the arm 2 bears when in the folded position, is operable automatically to cut the supply circuit when the lamp is folded up. The path of the conducting wire from the base to the lamp socket is through the insulating washers 2| and 22, through the part 3 of the arm, which is hollow, and then to the interior of one of the tubes forming the part 4 of the arm, by way of the interior of the pivotal tube 23.-

In the folded position, the edge of the head 33 fits on to the rim of the upper edge of the base I as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. This edge can comprise, as seen in Figure l, a head or fillet 25 ensuring a close fit between the two parts. The whole apparatus lends itself to decorative effects, varied according to the shapes given to the parts.

The base and the head are designed so as to be made from a mouldable material which ensures economy of manufacture. Without departing from the spirit of the invention any other material may be used (wood, metal and the like) as well as any other method of machining. It must also be understood that the shape adopted may be very varied. Finally, as regards the folding arm, it has already been stated that it can be provided with several joints, instead of on only; it must also be understood that the embodiment of the various sections may be varied either by using profiled or tubular parts, that all the sections may be made in parts of the same shape or of different shapes. Any other shapes which lead to lengthened and suiiiciently strong parts being obtained may also be employed. All other methods of reducing the length of the arm, for example, all telescopic systems, all deformable parallelogram systems, etc. are also employable without departing from the spirit of the inven tion.

What I caim is:

1. An electric table lamp comprising a base, a

lower hinge connection on the rear upper surface of the base, a lower half-arm mounted on its lower extremity on said lower hinge connection, an intermediate hinge connection at the upper extremity of said lower half-arm, an upper halfarm mounted on its lower extremity on said intermediate hinge connection, an upper hinge connection mounted on the upper extremity of said upper half-arm and a concave reflector having its lower rear portion connected to said upper hinge connection, the lower periphery of said reflector conforming to the upper periphery of said base both said half -arms being dimensioned within said reflector and base whereby the lower periphery of said reflector registers with the upper periphery of said base and both said half-arms are located in the concavity of the reflector when in folded position.

2. An electric table lamp according to claim 1, wherein said intermediate hinge connection includes means to prevent relative rotation of said half-arms in one direction beyond extended aligned position.

3. An electric table lamp according to claim 1, wherein said base comprises apertures in the lower surface thereof adapted. to receive a connecting cable and a plug and means for retaining said cable and plug inside said apertures.

4. An electric table lamp according to claim 1 further comprising an electric push button switch located in said base adjacent said lower hinge connection, the button being so located as to be depressed by said lower half -arm when in folded position.

ANDRE MOUNIQUE.

REEERENCES CITED The, following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,044,689 Pierce Nov. 19, 1912 1,310,936 Walker July 22, 1919 1,746,810 Anderson Feb. 11, 1930 1,440,694 Potstada Jan. 2, 1923 2,076,446 Carwardine Apr. 6, 1937 2,233,300 Trythall Feb. 25, 1941 2,285,868 Muller June 9, 1942 2,301,661 Wiedenhoeft Nov. 10, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 193,106 Switzerland Sept. 30, 1937 216,821 Switzerland Dec. 30, 1938 719,420 France Nov, 14, 1931 

